Polyurethane timing belt drives PCB loading robots Pick and Place robot manufacturer Advanced Engineering Industrie GmbH, Austria, chooses a low mass power transmission system comprising polyurethane timing belts from Mulco. Advanced Engineering Industrie GmbH - based in Hallein, Austria manufacture automatic load /unload systems used in PCB production and test systems. Its MOV 650 series 4-axis pick and place robot is used to position PCBs between conveyors and processes such as etching. Reflecting the competitive nature of the industry, the design of the robot system called for low cost combined with maximum flexibility to adapt to any size of PCB and the ability to meet high processing speeds with long life and minimal maintenance. Advanced Engineering Industrie based its design on a SCARA style robot system with one linear axis and three rotary axes, all acting in the same horizontal plane (see image 1). In operation the robot can transport up to 12 circuit boards per minute handling two magazine mounted PCBs simultaneously - each measuring up to 650 mm x 650 mm with a combined weight of 4 kg. To minimise the overall inertia it was decided to use a low mass power transmission system comprising 12 Synchroflex Gen III polyurethane high-performance timing belts with hardened precision pulleys and servomotor drives. The choice of the Gen III timing belt with its harder polyurethane and improved steel cord tensioning allows up to 25% more power transmission than conventional belts resulting in higher load performance and improved lifetime. Also with constant length and no post-elongation, the belt maintains a very high dynamic stiffness to provide optimal servo control characteristics and exceptional accuracy and repeatability. Furthermore the distinctive red coloured Gen III belt requires no lubrication, is very quiet running and is effectively maintenance-free after installation Speed Link InfoService Request more information by e-mail Reader Service No. Reader Number Email Address 01045    Tell a friend about this article:
Copyright © 2008 Thomas Publishing Company